River Ridge Elementary third-grader Christopher Baldwin was dressed to impress First Lady Sandra Deal, with his sports jacket and American flag bow tie on Nov. 14.

Baldwin was one of approximately 130 third-graders who gathered in the school's media center to hear Deal read Marshall, the Courthouse Mouse: A Tail of the U. S. Supreme Court - a fitting choice since the students are currently studying the three branches of government.

HARLEM - For months, country music fans have been jiving and jamming, thanks to one local musician who helped produce a No. 1 hit song.

Harlem native Ray Fulcher co-wrote the song "When It Rains It Pours," a hit that remained No. 1 for country music on the Billboard radio chart for two weeks and No. 1 on the Mediabase chart for a week.

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced it will suspend all construction-related lane closures on interstate highways and primary state roads from 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22 through 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 27.

Similar restrictions will be in place for Christmas and New Year's, according to a news release from GDOT.

Thanksgiving is a time to come together with friends and family to celebrate and reflect on all we have been blessed with. The first Thanksgiving celebrations were based around agriculture. November was the time when the yearly harvest had been completed, and farmers finally had time to stop working and reflect on the fruits of their labor. Having produced enough food to survive the winter was a great cause for celebration.

Sgt. 1st Class (Ret.) James W. Miller recalled the hardest day of his life as a military service member to a gymnasium full of students and veterans at Evans High School during its annual Veterans Day event Thursday.

Lora Hydrick uses culinary etiquette to teach her students about the importance of life skills.

On a typical day at Grovetown High School, Hydrick - who is customarily decked out in a standard chef's uniform - can be found presenting PowerPoint slides on pasta recipes, critiquing students over their shoulder as they dice tomatoes or looking over finished recipes.

In a class comprised of dozens of ninth to 12th grade students, Hydrick's mission is to teach students life skills in the form of cooking instruction.

The Columbia County School district was recently awarded A Golden Radish Award for its farm to school food programs by the Georgia Departments of Agriculture, Education and Public Health and other organizations.

The district was recognized at the Gold Level for their accomplishments during the 2016-17 school year, according to a news release from Georgia Organics.